


Avengers Shuffle

by jessoftheweirding



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Bucky Barnes Feels, Domestic Avengers, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Multi, Shuffle Challenge, some AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-28
Updated: 2015-10-28
Packaged: 2018-04-28 13:40:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5092835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jessoftheweirding/pseuds/jessoftheweirding
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Drabbles and prompts from my Ipod. Darcy-centric mostly, but we'll see what happens?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Jekyll and Hyde

**Author's Note:**

> Trying my hand at shuffle prompts. Thoughts/suggestions welcome!

_Thud._ **Thud.** _Thud._ **Thud.**

Each impact of his fists against the sandbag echoed in the stillness of the empty gym. Sweat dripped from his pores and slid down his skin but he ignored it, focusing on the vibrations rocketing back into him with each punch. Rather than providing an outlet for the anger that still coursed through him, each strike and resulting shock only reflected each other until he was trapped in a feedback loop of ever increasing rage.

_“Oh, yo, yo, there's a demon inside_  
_Oh, yo, yo, just like Jekyll and Hyde_  
_Oh, yo, yo, all this anger inside_  
_Oh, yo, yo, I feel like Jekyll and Hyde”_

The Winter Soldier had no emotions. It was tool, a weapon to be used and broken.

James Barnes had too many feelings to name, let alone express. He was a man out of time and purpose, tormented by demons that would destroy anyone else.

Even as the figure pounded away at the sandbag struck with fists of both flesh and metal, he was a chimera of both man and machine. He was Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes and Bucky Barnes and the Winter Soldier. He was all of them. He was none of them.

_“There's just so much God damned weight on my shoulders_  
_All I'm trying to do is live my motherfucking life_  
_Supposed to be happy, but I'm only getting colder_  
_Wear a smile on my face, but there's a demon inside_  
_There's just so much God damned weight on my shoulders_  
_All I'm trying to do is live my motherfucking life_  
_Supposed to be happy, but I'm only getting colder_  
_Wear a smile on my face, but there's a demon inside”_

**Thud.** _Thud._ **Thud.** _Thud._

Silence reigned in the gym but for the rhythm of his punches. Muzzled for so long, he had no voice, though his throat burned with captive screams. He was not allowed excessive noise.

Every day he fought and clawed for control, to be the man rather than the monster. Every memory was a victory but every nightmare was a failure. He wanted to be the man who was honored in the Smithsonian, who was the Captain's trusted partner, who could laugh and smile and flirt and live.

He fought to be a man but his demon was there, writhing beneath the surface of his skin. Every person he passed on the street was assessed with the Soldier's gaze, every threat categorized and either dismissed or prepared for. He lived in a state of ceaseless violence, like a viper constantly poised to attack. His cold rage was a steady energy that fed his focus and caused the plates of his arm to frequently re-calibrate in preparation for explosive force.

He wasn't a man, at least not wholly. He was what he was created to be, though he had purposely failed his final mission. He would never be fully rid of the Soldier, but neither could he ever fully rediscover the young man on the eve of deployment. All he could do was fight back the rage any way possible, beat back the demon inside, and figure out what sort of man was left behind.

  
_“If I wasn't so deranged, could I ever face the pain?_  
_If I ever were to change, would the song remain the same?_  
_Oh, yo, yo_  
_All I'm trying to do is live my motherfucking life_  
_Oh, yo, yo_  
_Wear a smile on my face, but there's a demon inside_  
_Oh, yo, yo_  
_All I'm trying to do is live my motherfucking life_  
_Oh, yo, yo_  
_Wear a smile on my face, but there's a demon inside”_

 **Thud.** _Thud._ **Thud.** _Thud._


	2. Clap Your Hands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky/Darcy 
> 
> Darcy needs a dance partner.

“UghhhhHHHH!”

 

James “Bucky” Barnes looked up from the eggs he was scrambling in muted surprise. He'd heard Darcy enter the communal living and dining area some time back; the pretty assistant couldn't do silent unless her life depended on it. He originally tuned her out when she chatted away as if on the phone and didn't enter the kitchen but now, at her groan of frustration, decided to check in. Moving his pan off the burner and turning off the heat, he stepped away from the range and wiped his hands on the towel that was draped across his shoulder.  
  
  
“Everything ok, doll?” He called out, coming to the kitchen's doorway and leaning against the wall.

 

Darcy lay across the couch looking like she'd flopped there; she was stretched out across the cushions with one arm draped across her face and her StarkPhone in hand while the rest of her curvy frame was tucked against the back of the couch. Even with her dark wavy hair draped across the pillow and dressed in her usual Saturday morning attire of loose yoga pants and an oversized T-shirt depicting Thor's facial hair silhouette, the sight of Darcy Lewis had always made Bucky think of happier days.

 

After a moment, Darcy sighed and dropped her arm from across her face.

 

“Yeah, Buck, it's no big deal.”

 

Bucky frowned and padded across the room to the couch, picking up her outstretched legs and sliding under them. 

“You sure, Darce? I'm pretty sure Heimdall could see that pout.”

 

Darcy snorted, twitching when the cool metal of his left hand brushed her bare feet.

 

“Heimdall is an all-seeing Asgardian God, so I'm pretty sure he can see, well, all.” the assistant replied as Bucky started to rub her shins soothingly. She quirked an eyebrow in response and looked down her nose at him. Bucky, knowing her weakness for all things massage, smiled innocently at her. 

 

“Don't give me that look, Barnes. Besides, you can't pull it off like Steve can.” It was Bucky's turn to snort.

 

“True, the punk could get away with just about anything with just a flash of those baby blues,” He smirked at her, his own eyebrows raised as his hands worked lightly around her calves. “but that's beside the point. What's up, Darcy Lewis?”

 

She rolled her eyes in response, but Bucky could see her melt slightly into the cushions as he increased the pressure of his hands.

 

“Oooh, full names, huh? Why do you wanna know, James Barnes?”

 

He and Darcy flirted often. Their friendship was based on sass and no little attraction; while it was in both of their natures to be friendly, her schedule and his training had kept them from doing more than passing light words and appreciative looks. 

 

He paused for a second, then said with another grin, “What? I can't get curious when I hear my best girl making time and I'm not around?”

 

Darcy let out a scoff and pulled her legs out of his lap, though she did tuck her toes under his thigh.    
  
  


“If that's what making time sounds like to you, Barnes, then I'm starting to worry for your old girlfriends.”

 

Bucky twisted his torso towards her and lay his arm across her knees, his chin resting on his forearm. Letting a slow grin fill his face, he winked at Darcy. “They didn't worry about anything, doll, don't you fret. Though, if you're curious, I'd be happy to prove it to you.”

 

This time Darcy rolled her eyes even as her cheeks pinked. “In your dreams, soldier.”

 

His smirk deepened. “You're welcome to visit 'em any time, sugar.” Then his expression became more serious and Darcy started to squirm under his gaze. “C'mon. Spill.”

 

She looked at him for a long moment then finally sighed deeply, looking away from him as a full blush blossomed across her cheekbones. “My dance partner broke his leg.”

 

He blinked in surprise. “Your... dance partner? You dance?”

 

Now she glared at him. “Yes, I dance, Barnes. And my partner and I were actually pretty decent, which is why we were competing next month. Only, now we can't because my stupid partner broke his stupid leg playing stupid fucking basketball.” Pulling her arms and legs in tight, she frowned hard at the floor and refused to look at him.

 

“Aww, I'm sorry Darce. And of course that's a big deal. Why wouldn't it be?” He cocked his head and looked at her, trying to envision her performing a ballet or tap routine.

 

She shrugged. “Compared to saving the world? It doesn't exactly take precedence.”

 

He frowned but let it slide.“What kind of dance do you do?”

 

“...It's called Lindy Hop.” She watched him from the corner of her eye.

 

Now he was truly surprised. While he hadn't been able to (respectfully) envision the leotard, he was not expecting something that he was actually familiar with. “Seriously?”

 

“What, you got a problem with that, Barnes?” She narrowed her eyes at him and stuck her chin out stubbornly. 

 

He leaned back, hands up defensively. “No, not at all! I just didn't that was still around, is all. I used to watch the Lindy Hoppers that came down from Harlem.”

 

Darcy straightened, her legs stretching back out towards him. “Wait, you saw...?” She brightened suddenly. “Oh! Did you ever go to the Savoy Ballroom? I remember Steve saying that you liked to dance back in the day.”

 

He shook his head, chuckling. “Nah, we didn't get out of Brooklyn too much. We found enough trouble there without stirring up too much in other boroughs.”

 

“Oh.” She sat back, disappointed.

 

“Sorry Darce.”

 

She hummed a response, eying him thoughtfully. He waited, knowing whatever she was thinking would come out sooner or later. Eventually, she spoke.

 

“How strong are you, Bucky?” 

 

He raised an eyebrow at her but didn't respond directly. “What's cooking in the pretty head of yours, doll?”

 

She shrugged, her own eyebrow quirking at him challengingly. “I dunno, you think you could learn a dance routine in a month?”

 

He felt a smile slowly spread across his face. The Winter Soldier doing the Lindy Hop. “... you asking me to go dancing with you, doll?”

 

“If you're not gonna take me seriously, Barnes, then forget it. I-” she huffed, swinging her legs off the couch and starting to stand. Bucky stopped her with a hand on her elbow.

 

“Cool your jets, Darce. I'd be glad to help you win that competition.”

 

Her eyes widened and a blinding smile lit across her face. Before he could react, she lunged towards him and caught him in a tight hug. His arms automatically went around her as she pressed herself against him and he gulped.

 

“Oh, Bucky, thank you, thank you, _thank you!_ ” She gushed, _“_ My partner was Joel from accounting but he's not nearly strong enough to throw my ass around but you probably could! Oh, this gives me so many ideas- our routine is gonna be _bangin'_!”

 

He had closed his eyes against the jolt of her sliding into his arms and, as the curve of her body fitted briefly against his, he had the sudden feeling that he was getting in over his head. The nail on the coffin was when she brushed a light kiss across his cheek before bounding out of his arms before he had a chance to truly respond. He sat, transfixed, as she disappeared from the living room in a flurry of dark brown waves.

 

After a long moment, he rose from the couch and headed back to the kitchen and his now cold eggs. Shaking his head, he already knew this next month was going to be an interesting one.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song was Clap Your Hands by Parov Stellar

**Author's Note:**

> Song was Jekyll and Hyde by Five Finger Death Punch.


End file.
